To Address a Laurel – Japanese Titles
This is the first of two articles I’m going to put up about my new station in the SCA and how to contextualize it for a Japanese persona. This may be the shorter and relatively easier one—the next one on my name will be slightly more in-depth.
For the sake of ease, everything in this article is going to use my current registered name of Saito Takauji. For persona reasons I am registering the alternate name of Matsudaira Takauji, which would represent adoption into a higher-ranking family; and I’m going to figure out which I want to use more once the registration is complete. Everything in this article would also apply to that name, replacing ‘Saito’ with ‘Matsudaira’.
Having been made a Laurel, my thoughts once again turn toward the best way to contextualize this within my persona. There is not, to the best of my knowledge, a direct equivalent to the Laurel in Japanese court culture; so, we are once again drawing the best parallels possible.
- Western Titles Still Work
Just as when I was made a landed baron, western titles are still perfectly appropriate. Baron Takauji and Master Takauji are both perfectly appropriate. As I am still a baron, that title and style are still equally appropriate.
- Updates to Previous Japanese Titles
In the previous article[1], I laid out several options in Japanese which worked. Some of them don’t work exactly any longer, because I’m now a higher rank, but they’re close to what they were.
First off, O-Hata-no-Kami still works because I am still the landed Baron of Mag Mor. That doesn’t change until we step down.
Previously, the court rank I used was Senior Fifth Rank—making me Saito Takauji go-i. As a peer of a single order, under Master Edward’s ranking system I am now a member of the Junior Fourth Rank—making me Saito Takauji shi-i.
Under Master Edward’s system, I still have the honorary title of ‘Ason’. But because I have moved from the Fifth to the Fourth court rank, the title moves as well. Previously, it came after my clan name, but now it comes after my personal name. This makes me Saito Takauji no Ason.
And the honorifics of Takauji-sama and Takauji-dono or Saito-sama and Saito-dono all still work perfectly.
- Takauji-sensei
The officially approved title for a Peer in the SCA is Sensei.[2] Master Edward disagrees with this, noting: “Peers are a problem (no, not that kind of problem). The Laurel Sovereign of Arms has recommended ‘sensei’ (= master/teacher) be used to address peers, but this is too restrictive a usage. In Japanese practice, anyone teaching you anything (stained glass technique, how to make armour [sic], shield work, even how to boil rice) can and should be called sensei.”[3]
Master Edward is not wrong in his assertion. Far from its sole association in Western media with martial arts, anyone teaching you something can be addressed as sensei.[4] But the title is also traditionally associated with certain learned professions associated with advanced knowledge; this includes professors, doctors, and lawyers. When used in this way, it goes beyond the simple act of teaching and implies duty and hierarchy as well:
“Sensei, then, is not only a person of wisdom but also a major actor in the intricate web of obligations, group memberships, and dependencies that define Japanese social life and culture. To take the role of sensei does not necessarily imply the creation of valid knowledge even though it requires the ‘publication’ of ‘research,’ nor does it necessarily presume an obligation to contribute to student learning even though it may require the holding of classes. To maintain status as sensei requires membership in a group identified by some specialized research commitment, active involvement in activities that separate those inside the group from those outside it, the placement of students in jobs, and the sponsorship of those with academic ambitions into family-like academic cliques.”[5]
A position which requires membership in a group of ongoing commitments, with duties to both students and the community, and an expectation of personal mentorship and advancement to those within the community? Sounds like a reasonable description of an SCA peerage to me. Especially given part of my body of work involves legal research and my background as a lawyer, it doesn’t seem inappropriate at all.
When using this title, it is important to note that in Japanese it comes after the name rather than before. Thus Saito-sensei and Takauji-sensei, or even Uji-sensei (depending on how formal you wish to be) are both correct; Sensei Saito or Sensei Takauji are incorrect.
- Oshō
One other option that I’ve found is the title of Oshō[6]. This is a title which refers to a Buddhist priest in charge of a temple and has the implication of something slightly higher than ‘Brother’ but not the highest rank possible. They are full members of their Order, able to administer a temple and perform certain rites. It is derived from a Sanskrit title meaning ‘Master’, with a specific teaching focus.[7] It is used in multiple forms of Buddhism in Japan, giving it cross-sect meaning.[8]
If we treat the Order of the Laurel as being akin to a monastic Order with an emphasis on artistic expression and research into the spiritual truth of the universe, it does not seem entirely inappropriate to use Oshō. This would be an independent title, with either -san or -sama appended to it depending on the rank and formality of the speaker, rather than using it with my name. Thus, I could be Oshō-sama, but not Oshō Takauji.
- Conclusion
Once again, this is offered not as a requirement that anyone use these forms of address for me. I remain very sanguine about how I am addressed. But if you wanted to specifically reference me as a Laurel, any of these are appropriate:
- Saito-sensei, Takauji-sensei, or Uji-sensei
- Saito Takauji shi-i
- Saito Takauji no Ason
- Master Takauji
- Oshō-san or Oshō-sama.
[1] https://dishonoronyourcow.com/?p=312
[2] https://heraldry.sca.org/loar/1994/07/titles.html#table9
[3] https://sengokudaimyo.com/address
[4] See, e.g., Yoshigasaki Kenjiro, The Meaning of Sensei, https://toitsu.dk/ki/news/Entries/2018/2/11_The_meaning_of_Sensei,_by_Yoshigasaki_Sensei,_2004.html.
[5] Rober Bierbaum, The Professor and the Sensei: Faculty Roles in the United States and Japan, 7 International Higher Education (March 1997).
[6] https://terebess.hu/zen/szoto/szotar/szotar.html
[7] Id.
[8] See, e.g., James Ford, Monks, Nuns & Priests in Western Zen, https://www.patheos.com/blogs/monkeymind/2009/03/monks-nuns-priests-in-western-zen.html.